>--- Original Message ---
>From: Steve Rosenthal <steve-rosenthal at home.com>
>To: PSN <PSN at csf.colorado.edu>
>Date: 12/21/01 8:04:13 AM
>
>This message was not posted earlier when submitted, but responses
to it
>were posted, so I am posting it now.
>
>Steve Rosenthal
>=====================================
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Anthony McIntyre [mailto:mackers1 at ntlworld.com]
>Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 7:22 AM
>To: Steve Rosenthal
>Subject: 1st missing message: Workers of the West - Fight!
>
>WORKERS OF THE WEST - FIGHT!
>Anthony McIntyre
>12.12.2001
>
>If the funny little men of Trotskyite sects were ever to find
themselves
>without a political home surely the right would construct a
cult for
>them
>and call it the 87th International or something similarly grandiose.
87,
>however, would mean there are more Internationals than cult
members.
>
>Terry Eagleton, in his book The Gatekeeper, is exceedingly funny
when
>writing of his experiences with such types.
>
>They would chase up and down the ranks of other people's marches,
>handing
>out leaflets to explain why they were not taking part in this
>revisionist,
>centrist, class collaborationist venture ... most of the group's
>energies
>were directed not to the conflict with world capitalism, but
to the
>rather
>more urgent war against other left wing organisations ... the
whole
>membership of the organisation could have been fitted with ease
into a
>public lavatory.
>
>Yet he observed 'how seriously such miniscule bodies tend to
take
>themselves'. All the more brought into focus by the fact that
no one
>else
>views them other than derisorily.
>
>After our meeting of the West Belfast Anti-War Coalition last
night I
>wondered if Eagleton had secured for himself in advance a window
on our
>fractious little world. By the time I had walked out in exasperation
as
>they
>prepared to set about each other a number of people who work
in Conway
>Mill,
>the site of the meeting, asked me if it was in fact a gathering
of the
>'War'
>coalition - 'seems to me they are knocking lumps out of each
other' one
>man
>said. I could do little but smile. I sensed he had seen them
at it
>before.
>Anybody remotely familiar with them certainly has. I felt a
bit silly
>about
>complaining - if I choose to go to a Punch & Judy show I can
hardly
>demand
>my money back when the puppets start to fight.
>
>For while there seemed no more than ten of us present for the
meeting at
>least three factions of the Left were there. One from Socialist
>Democracy,
>another from the Socialist Workers' Movement and a third who
was
>formerly a
>member of Gerry Healy's Workers' Revolutionary Party.
>
>The weekly meeting usually starts at 7 o'clock but last week
we were
>informed that the working masses could not make it from the
factories in
>time; only students could manage that feat. So we started at
7:30. But
>last
>night must have saw the working masses on overtime coming up
to
>Christmas as
>they were unable to shake of the shackles of the workplace in
time for
>that
>either. Last week also the Socialist Workers Party representative
told
>us
>that the revolutionaries from other areas were converging on
Conway Mill
>to
>meet with us to strategise and collectively pool our experiences.
When
>they
>did not arrive he told us that they had decided to meet us in
the pub
>instead - it being thirsty work stopping these wars abroad.
>
>When last night's meeting kicked off the chair invited us all
to make
>comments on how we thought the previous week's activities had
gone. I
>suggested that they had went nowhere and that 'mass rallies'
attended by
>sixteen at Belfast City Hall were having no impact other than
to attract
>the
>curiosity of passers by puzzled by our motley crew alternatively
howling
>then growling something about Palestine. Immediately, the socialist
>worker
>went on the defensive. Despite coming from what may just about
scrape
>into
>the lower reaches of the credible section of the Left he decided
to view
>this with incredulity, interpreting it as an attack on his party.
Such
>was
>his sensitivity on the matter that I fully expected to be called
an
>agent of
>the bourgeois media as I contemplatively fingered my press card.
>
>I didn't have long to wait. The broadside, however, came not
from the
>socialist worker but from the revolutionary worker. What were
our
>objectives
>he demanded to know? A strange question it seemed, given that
we were
>meeting as an anti-war movement and we could assume that stopping
the
>war
>was our goal. A 'negative' demand he informed us. What strange
Marxist
>wisdom accompanied with quotes from some obscure tract penned
in 1937 by
>Trotsky I wondered, would be hurled my way for my grave ideological
>error?
>Obviously guilty and in need of re-education for erroneously
labouring
>under
>the misapprehension that stopping people getting killed was
positive
>enough,
>I awaited my fate. Thankfully, it was not a re-education camp
in the
>Felons
>or the Gravediggers'. Cell 26 in H-Block 4 with all its bores
seemed
>preferable to that. The revolutionary worker spared me, if only
>temporarily.
>We must be anti-imperialist he told us.
>
>Not one to be lured by the rhetoric and undeterred by the social
gulag -
>I
>don't care if they never let me into the Felons again - I expressed
the
>view
>that anyone, anti-imperialist or otherwise, who favoured an
end to the
>war
>could serve in our anti-war coalition. And for my grave deviationist
sin
>I
>was denounced as a supporter of imperialism. There would be
no Marxist
>Nirvana for me. Not even a Stalinist purgatory where I could
serve out
>an
>interim stretch reading the Collected Works of Trotsky. It
was
>difficult to
>suppress the urge to laugh as I gazed around the room seeing
so many
>smirk
>and snicker. They had heard it all before. The staple diet for
the sects
>with their socialism for simpletons. I just can't understand
this
>Marxist
>philosophy of diabolical mutterism - extra tuition in the re-ed
for that
>one, no doubt.
>
>The revolutionary - and by now anti-imperialist - worker continued
in
>his
>effort to drag the meeting down a futile path when he demanded
that we
>all
>support some anti-imperialist programme that would supposedly
chart out
>the
>future government of Afghanistan - it was laughable. The socialist
>democrat
>agreed with him on that. Well, he would wouldn't he? With an
ability to
>disperse an audience quicker than tear gas he, with revolutionary
>fervour,
>was determined not to allow the revolutionary worker to hog
all the
>irrelevance for himself. But why not draw up one for Saturn
while they
>are
>at it? There are as many there who will pay attention to it
as are in
>Afghanistan.
>
>People who are not listened to even in the pubs of West Belfast
- and
>all
>manner of strange things are listened to in those places - and
who, in
>some
>cases are actually physically avoided like the doomsday preachers
in the
>centre of town - are now going to devise the system of government
for
>the
>Afghanis. Somewhere in my mind I could just visualise both the
members
>of
>the Northern Alliance and Al Qaeda dodging the daisy cutters
in the
>caves of
>Tora Bora debating what the irrelevant left of West Belfast
suggest for
>the
>future government of their country.
>
>It all brought back memories of a few years ago when the Good
Friday
>Agreement was being discussed in these areas. Ludicrous as it
now seems
>I
>agreed to participate in a leaflet distribution campaign against
the
>agreement. The leaflet was drawn up by people associated with
the
>revolutionary worker. The first part was okay if I recall but
the
>alternative to the Good Friday Agreement was the Workers' Republic.
We
>got
>laughed good-humouredly out of Springhill as I tried to cut
the leaflet
>in
>half to save myself embarrassment. Of course it was easy to
laugh at
>us.
>Waving little red flags without, as Lenin says, having the slightest
>idea or
>means of getting anywhere near socialism, was no challenge to
the
>pro-Agreement dominant power structure in West Belfast. Any
serious
>questioning of that leads to you being picketed and threatened
by the
>thought police. Somehow that is not a fate awaiting the advocates
of
>workers' republics. What threat do they pose? It very much reminds
me of
>the
>comment Sean Lemass made in relation to the Irish Labour Party
-
>harmless
>docile men not to be accused of going red as they were simply
not going
>anywhere.
>
>Despite the presence of the three sects there were only two
armed with
>agendas. The socialist worker was there genuinely to oppose
the war
>rather
>than subject us to the gobbledegook and Marxist rhetoric. Pity
that he
>allowed himself to be goaded by the socialist democrat into
waging war
>on
>the others. Despite the best efforts of the chair, tension
filled the
>air
>as each watched the others beadily for the first sign of ideological
>deviation. The muttering and murmuring started when the chair
pointed
>out
>that potential supporters and genuinely radical people shy away
from
>anti-war coalitions if they see the irrelevant left there. A
seemingly
>obvious point when it is considered the number of friends who
decline to
>go
>'to listen to X & Y talk bullshit'.
>
>You are a 'chicken shit sitting on you dick' one howled at another.
>'Dickhead' the reply. Tempers rose. The revolutionary worker
made a
>brave
>attempt to calm matters down only to be virtually threatened
by the
>socialist worker. The socialist democrat who started it all
closed his
>eyes
>contemptuously and pretended to sleep. A smile of almost orgasmic
>pleasure
>creeping over his face as he relished the blow to another on
the left. A
>smile that tuned to horrified shock when he himself was then
called
>something from the obscurantist dictionary.
>
>If a Martian was to land tomorrow and set himself the task of
>discovering
>what the strategic objective of the left wing sects was he could
only
>conclude that each sets itself the goal of becoming more irrelevant
than
>the
>next. As a friend who refused to go to the meeting precisely
because the
>irrelevant left would be in attendance said of them that they
are
>characterised by the perspective of 'I must be right. There
are even
>fewer
>listen to me than to you.'
>
>The war in Afghanistan and perhaps elsewhere in months to come
is far
>too
>important a matter to allow opposition to it to be eroded by
a bunch of
>sectarian squabblers who attend nothing in a spirit of comradeship
or
>cooperation but rather as part of an exercise in one-upmanship.
Despite
>being the irrelevant left it paradoxically has a relevance -
to every
>right
>wing strategist and political activist who desperately wishes
to depict
>a
>negative image of the future of socialism. 'Look at that lot
ha ha ha.
>What
>you see is what you will get'. This squalid little amalgamation
of
>Trotskyite sects and breakaway cults has devitalised and demoralised
>many of
>those who want an alternative future.
>
>If the anti-war movement in Ireland is to bud into a flicker
of real
>life it
>must be built away from the irrelevant left. The most positive
>contribution
>the irrelevant left can make is to disband and allow the remaining
>genuine
>activists in their number to move creatively.
>
>There may be something in what Jeremy Hardy said: 'Ironically,
perhaps,
>the
>best organised dissenters in the world today are anarchists,
who are
>busily
>undermining capitalism while the rest of the left is still trying
to
>form
>committees.'
>
>And what we had reinforced yet again last night was that nothing
is
>impossible until you give it to a committee of the irrelevant
left.
>
>
>---
>Anthony McIntyre
>The Blanket
>http://lark.phoblacht.net
>A journal of protest and dissent
>Belfast
>---
>
>